ApostleO

I've read through two threads recently on DIS, and I have found nobody talking about S4. Did everyone just give up at S3? Did we all forget about "growing the beard" and how long it can take a show to get it's legs?

S4 is my favorite season of DIS. Species 10-C was some of the coolest new sci-fi for Star Trek in a while. The overarching plot was interesting in that it had high stakes, but it didn't feel oppressive like other seasons. It still had a sense of hope and optimism. A lot of the characters got to expand their roles and relationships, feeling more like an ensemble.

I know there was some stuff that didn't hit well in that season, but I can't recall the details off hand (like I can for S1-S3). In my memory, the good outweighed the bad.

I am hopeful that S5 meets at least that mark, and hopefully glides into a graceful ending for the show. If I had my wish, S5 would make a switch to a more episodic style (rather than a big season-long central plot).

I saw a lot of hate for the Saturn class, and the arguments made sense assuming classic Starfleet designs and concepts.

I, however, love it because it begs the question: why? What is that for? And my mind jumps to all sorts of cool technobabble uses for such a weird ship design.

Some weird portal experiment? Evacuation ship made to maximize shuttle bay access? A specialized science ship designed with tons of inward-facing sensors? The mind boggles with possibilities.

The people who hated in it see wasted space. I see an unopened techno-mystery-box.

To save others a click:

5 appointed by George W Bush (including the chief), 4 by Donald Trump, 1 by George H W Bush, and 1 by Barack Obama.

GOP has been losing popular opinion for years, but they've been stacking the courts every chance they get, and now they are reaping their rewards. Fascism by judicial capture.

It's weird, he doesn't really look like a Tellarite, but he doesn't really look like a Talaxian, either.

I will concede he looks more like a Talaxian than a Tellarite, but still, very different.

Yeah, as much as I actually loved those movies (they were the gateway drug that got me back into Star Trek after only watching random episodes on syndication), I think their window of relevance has passed. Making another one would be pointless, unless maybe if it was some crossover with Strange New Worlds. But I imagine that would confuse general audiences horribly.

Yeah, in-universe, Starfleet seems to have a real nepotism problem.

I asked the same question out loud to myself when I saw Boims in the captain seat. Best guess: since the plan was just to tow the destroyer and throw it, they knew he wouldn't have to do much, and it'd give him a shot. Plus they might have taken his relationship with Mariner (and his rapport with the rest of the Lower Decks gang) into account. Lastly, it might have been a tactic for if the admiralty went through with court-martials. Whomever answered that hail in the captain's seat would be in more hot water than the rest of the crew.

Borg Sphere - best ship.

Now we know why he was so popular on the raisin farm.

That's for the critique.

You're right that I couldn't think of any explicit retcons. The closest I could think of, other than technology, were Burnham being related to Spock (which you touched on), and how absolutely decimated the Federation was by the Klingons while Discovery was in the mirror universe (again, not necessarily a retcon, but it seems like it would have been mentioned more).

Regarding tech, I had legitimately forgotten that Burnham's parents and the time suit were Section 31. That said, what other amazing tech do we ever see out of Section 31? Granted, we don't even see much of Section 31 in other shows, outside of DS9 and ENT, but in those cases, I seem to recall them being more intelligence operatives. They accomplish their job by knowing more than others, and operating outside usual Federation conventions. It's spy stuff, not super weapons (outside the Changeling virus). But maybe I'm forgetting things.

Overall, I thought it was fine. I think it got hit a little harshly by critics. It's not terrible (read: unwatchable), but it's pretty firmly my least favorite Star Trek series.

Without actually looking through the full episode lists, and just going off what I remember of each season, here are my gut ratings:

S1: 3/10

S2: 5/10

S3: 4/10

S4: 8/10

Overall: 5/10

Going a bit more into my thoughts in each...

Season 1 - 3/10

Pros:

• First new Trek in a while.
• Neat graphics.
• Great cast. (Especially Doug Jones as Saru).

Cons:

• Prequel-itis... ** New graphics don't match the TOS era. ** We already know, roughly, how things will pan out. ** Retcons.
• Unintelligible Klingons (and unreadable subtitles).
• Discovery is ugly.

Season 2 - 5/10

Pros:

• Interesting season-long mystery, with payoff for multiple story beats.
• Introduces Anson Mount as Captain Pike, leading to the spinoff of Strange New Worlds.

Cons:

• More prequel-itis... ** Puts legacy characters in peril, when the audience knows they canonically must survive. Saps any tension. ** Galaxy-level threat must obviously be defeated, since we know there's life in the future canon. ** Burnham time suit well beyond reasonable tech level for the era. ** Control drone fleet tech unreasonable for the era.
• Predestination/Bootstrap paradox.
• Discount Borg.

Season 3 - 4/10

Pros:

• Finally out of prequel territory.
• Cool future tech.
• Interesting mystery of The Burn.
• Great character development.

Cons:

• Unsatisfying conclusion to The Burn mystery.
• Tired of seeing The Federation in shambles.
• Seriously, the source of The Burn was stupid.
• Discovery would be able to solve so, sooo many problems in this era.
• Did I mention the sad kid causing The Burn?

Season 4 - 8/10

Pros:

• More character development.
• Federation starting to get back on its feet.
• Interesting mystery around the "Dark Matter Anomaly" (DMA)
• We get to see The Federation deal with a truly alien first contact. Species 10-C was amazing.

Cons:

• Once again, an existential threat. Very exhausting.

Conclusion

I think Discovery suffered from one main issue, in multiple way: season-based plots. Since every season had a single main plot, any issues with the plot ruin the whole season. We don't get standalone great episodes like in the old series, which you could watch at random. You kinda need to watch the whole season. Furthermore, since each season had to have a big plot, every season is dealing with a huge issue. It's exhausting being in an existential crisis the entire time. That's the feeling we have in our real world right now. That's the reason I watch Star Trek; it's a glimpse at how the future might be brighter. Discovery never felt like a promising future. It felt like we are going to be struggling for our lives for the next millennium and more.

So, I still enjoyed it as a piece of media, and a part of the Star Trek canon, but it's not a show I see myself watching again and again like the rest of the franchise.

With the revelation that they are being taken, I immediately thought of Pria, from The Orville. Essentially, she was an agent from the future sent to steal The Orville for future collectors. The unidentified ship is clearly extremely powerful despite its small size, which screams time traveller to me. And they seem to be taking examples of ships from all different empires, as if for a collection.

My other thought is that it's some party trying to turn all these empires against The Federation, as, to date, no Starfleet ships have been attacked. It's not unreasonable that their neighbors could see that as suspicious, and conclude it's an advanced Starfleet attack vessel.